Eoin Morgan was quick to acknowledge Jos Buttler's innings as the deciding factor in England's series-clinching win over Australia in Sydney on Sunday.
Buttler made a brilliant 100 not out to help England to 302-6 in the third of five one-day internationals at the SCG, and a disciplined bowling performance – which came Liam Plunkett leaving the field with a hamstring injury having sent down just eight balls – saw the hosts kept to 286-6.
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Chris Woakes made an unbeaten 53 as he and Buttler put on 113 in the final 12 overs, while his 2-47, allied with Mark Wood (2-46) and Adil Rashid (2-51), ensured Plunkett's absence was not too keenly felt.
Despite those all-round contributions, Morgan was under no illusions as to the identity of England's match-winner.
"I'm so proud of the guys, Jos was probably the the difference between the sides," said Morgan after England secured an unassailable 3-0 lead and their first bilateral series win in Australia. On a two-paced wicket, he paced it to perfection, played the anchor until about five or six overs out.
'One of the best wins'
"We thought 300 was competitive, to have a hammer blow with one of the quicks going down hurt us a lot actually. This is one of the best wins from this group. Everybody was required to give a bit extra and everyone did. With the ball we were outstanding. Hopefully two more wins [to come], we're going to play our strongest possible XI."
Buttler added: "It's a great win, probably the best we've had. We had to find a bowler, [Joe] Root bowling Liam Plunkett's overs, the guys kept putting in performances.
"We've championed this way of playing, even if you lose wickets. Chris and I tried to push on, we were looking at 270 but we had a couple of good overs. Against [Pat] Cummins, [Mitchell] Starc, etc it was very special."
Comments
SHARE